me made May 2017 (22 May to 28 May)

Nothing much to report around here: I was sick for a good chunk of this week, so it was only about halfway through that I realized I needed to get my me-mades in.  So, of course, I then wore my knit Lindens to make sure that I was covered for my goal.  I did add two additional me-made garments in this week, and wore them together due to chilly May weather.

My rayon Helmi dress with my Tamarack jacket.  

I love that I am getting wear out of the Tamarack Jacket in May, so don't view this as a complaint about the chilly temps!  If only it inspired me to finish the handsewing on it!

the world is as the world is

My third (and so far final) Helmi was a speed make when I realized I had nothing that I could wear to a memorial service.  I used some rayon ikat from Piedmont Fabrics where I also found buttons for it.

I used French seams throughout except at the waist seam which I bias bound.  The seam allowance on Helmi is only 3/8" so that made a French seam that would catch the button placket at the waist to require more precision that I wanted to attempt.  I did a pretty poor job on the French seams in general, partially because the smaller seam allowance didn't give a lot of wiggle room for grading and because this fabric frayed ridiculously.  On a couple of the seams, I caught so many loose threads in the exterior seam that I had to resew it with a slightly larger seam allowance.  However, after doing so much bias binding, French seams feel super quick and easy!

On this Helmi, I decided not to worry about pattern placement/matching and not to add in-seam pockets.  I regretted both decisions.  I keep feeling for pockets when I wear this and I think the location of the pattern on the collar is super odd.

I don't think I've mentioned on my other Helmi posts that I have done the construction out of order each time.  Basically, I have fully constructed the sleeves and skirt and then gone back to construct the bodice.  On the first one, I did this because I wanted some easy warm-up sewing before tackling the new-to-me button placket and collar.  (I hadn't sewn for about 2 months when I started that one.). I really enjoyed that construction order because the dress is almost entirely finished once you get through the tricky bits of the collar, with only the set-in sleeves and waist hem to finish.

This was the Helmi where I used a type of fabric that was recommended for the pattern, unlike my first two.  Despite really loving this fabric, I don't love the final product.  For me, I think this pattern actually benefits from a fabric that has more structure and less drape even though that's not what the pattern designers intended.  I also got lazy about stay stitching on this one, which turned out to be a poor choice with this fabric since the collar stretched out to be noticeably larger than the neck.

Summary:

Pattern: Helmi Tunic Dress by Named Patterns
Fabric: Rayon ikat from Piedmont Fabrics; leftover scraps of Leah Duncan Art Gallery voile for bias strips.
Thread: Gutermann Mara 100
Buttons: purchased at Piedmont Fabrics
Needles: Microtex 70/10
Modifications: French seams except at waist where bias bound; Folded skirt hem over twice; construction order
Things I'll change next time: Pattern placement on collar; add pockets; staystitch